Transformation – August 23, 2025
After skipping July due to the intense summer heat in North River Mills, we gathered again this month for a meaningful conversation on transformation—what it means, how it unfolds, and how we continue to grow as both artists and people.
Eight of us came together: a mix of North River Mills locals, friends from across Hampshire County, a visiting couple from Alexandria, Virginia (by way of Baker, West Virginia), and Scott Ingleton, the incoming pastor at our host site, North River Mills United Methodist Church, who joined us for the first time.
Themes of the Conversation
We began by exploring the role of education in shaping one’s understanding of transformation. Many noted how early exposure to different cultures helps build openness and curiosity later in life, rather than fear or caution. Travel was mentioned as another way to deepen understanding throughout life.
From there, the conversation turned to flexibility—focusing on how the ability to adapt rather than resist change is a skill often acquired with age and one that sustains longevity. Lyrics from Ani DiFranco’s songs, including “Angry Anymore” and “Buildings and Bridges,” added depth to this reflection.
Our group also highlighted the value of small gatherings. Participants shared that they often feel freer to open up in more intimate settings where support and welcome are present. In contrast, we noted that large concerts or mega-church environments, while impressive and spectacular, rarely lead to lasting transformation. Instead, relationships and small, meaningful experiences often prove to be far more profound. We took time to share and celebrate examples of such relationships in our own lives.
The Role of Place
Some attendees voiced concern that holding these gatherings in a church setting could feel like a barrier. We acknowledged that this has come up before and reaffirmed that the heart of the Third Space Project is to provide a safe environment for people of all backgrounds—religious, secular, or anywhere in between.
Several participants shared past experiences of “church hurt,” reminding us of the importance of this work. In fact, one of our main intentions with Third Space is to address the rift between religion and the arts. Leading by example, we hope to bridge gaps created in the past—by both the church and the secular world—in order to facilitate powerful creation through this holistic reconnection.
Looking Ahead
Education emerged again as a key focus for the future. Together, we set an intention to consider educational needs in our community, to discern how we might contribute, and to continue developing concrete proposals at future meetups. Themes of support, encouragement, and combating isolation arose as major needs among those present.
Music as Transformation
Our musical offering this month was Alvin Lucier’s “I Am Sitting in a Room.” Here is a glimpse of his simple yet profound score:
Excerpt from Lucier’s Score
Instructions:
- Choose a room the musical qualities of which you would like to evoke.
- Attach the microphone to the input of tape recorder #1.
- To the output of tape recorder #2 attach the amplifier and loudspeaker.
- Use the following text or any other text of any length:
“I am sitting in a room different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice and I am going to play it back into the room again and again until the resonant frequencies of the room reinforce themselves so that any semblance of my speech, with perhaps the exception of rhythm, is destroyed. What you will hear, then, are the natural resonant frequencies of the room articulated by speech. I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have.”
- Record your voice on tape through the microphone attached to tape recorder #1.
- Rewind the tape to its beginning, transfer it to tape recorder #2, play it back into the room through the loudspeaker, and record a second generation of the original statement through the microphone.
- Rewind the second generation, splice it onto the end of the original, and repeat.
- Continue through many generations.
- All the generations spliced together in order form a composition whose length is determined by the original text and the number of iterations.
Our Process:
Inspired by Lucier, we created our own version, based on the intentions that surfaced during our discussion. Together we wrote:
“We are sitting in a room exploring transformation. Maybe finding it’s possible when we thought not, discovering that the search itself is transformative if we look outside of the box and are open to evolving. We transform in small ways every day that we live. May we share the transformative power of our gifts with all those we meet going forward.”
You can listen to how our experiment turned out below:
We look forward to continuing this journey together and invite you to join us for our next session on September 20th.